The placebo effect is the health response patients experience when they believe they’re receiving a drug or surgery but are actually being given dummy drugs or simulated treatments.

Dr. Lissa Rankin writes, “The placebo effect is real, it works about 18-80% of the time, and it’s not just in your head – it actually dilates bronchi, heals ulcers, makes warts disappear, drops your blood pressure, and even makes bald men who think they’re getting Rogaine grow hair!”

A guard brought me to the classroom where I’d be speaking. I asked, “How many will be here?” He said, “Thirty-one.” I thought, “Wow, you have trouble talking to your own two kids.”

At the front of the empty classroom I paused to get my bearings. My prayer went something like this, “Well, here I am. Thank you for leading me, animating me. Show me how I express your wisdom. Keep reminding me that each one that comes into this room belongs to you. Please, put your words in my mouth.”

Then the procession began. Thirty-one of them, hands behind their backs, slowly made their way to rows of chairs. Thirty-one orange jumpsuits. Four young women. Twenty-seven young men. All in their teens, except two boys, age ten.

Thirty-one. Not one smile. Not one hello. Their body language screamed, “Disdain.”

I was introduced: “This is Mr. Wommack. He’s here to talk with you. Listen up. If you make a noise, disrupt, slump in your seats, or are in any way are out of order you will lose all privileges the rest of the day.”

(CNN) – With Christmas cookies, fruitcake and eggnog tempting us at every corner, it is hard not to gain weight during the holiday season. Yet it is not just holiday foods that are enticing.

Oversized and disproportionate – that about sums it up when the average American is 20 pounds overweight. The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently said, “Obesity, and with it diabetes, are the only major health problems that are getting worse in this country, and they are getting worse rapidly.”

Personally, I have been fortunate never to have had much of a problem with my weight. I was an active, slender, Texas kid. Our family didn’t have a television until Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, so my brothers and I spent countless hours playing outside. I always ran like a jack rabbit, especially after jumping the fence at our neighborhood riding stable.

If you’re like me, your search for what can heal you and keep you healthy continues.

Perhaps, you’ve been hearing a lot about health reform and new models of care. The National Institutes of Health reports that 40 percent of Americans are actively seeking alternative approaches.

Possibly, you like the thought of a patient-centered approach. The idea that you can have more control over your mental and physical wellbeing might appeal to you too.

In addition, you’ve noticed that more and more items on the grocery shelf claim to be good for your health. And this being the holiday season, perchance, you’ve looked up at the mistletoe hanging from doorframes and wondered if that sprig, as well, has possible medicinal benefits.

After examining what some believe leads to longer and healthier living, here are at least eight approaches I have found:

Fasting, Castration

A Mediterranean-style diet, Faith in God

Wild women and whiskey, Location and income

Being married, A positive outlook

Perhaps you have experimented with one or more of these? I’ve tried several. I’ll let you guess which ones.

The wide variety of these contradictory theories reveals the sweeping net society is casting in its search for lasting health. The theories also indicate an abundance of misinformation and fears about aging.

A film guide for the Sundance Film Festival states, “Destined to be hailed as the definitive film on American healthcare, ESCAPE FIRE offers a way out—a primer on how to save the health of a nation.”

Saving the health of a nation starts with recognizing that it can be done. Identifying and utilizing effective healing systems is a good start. As innately caring and spiritual people, we can and will make it happen.

Many years ago, I taught Michelle in Sunday School. A few years later, when she was a teenager, she went to a party and drank until she was drunk. Friends took her to a house and left her alone for several hours. When they returned at 3:30 in the morning, they found her unconscious and not breathing.

When firemen were unable to revive her, she was immediately taken to a hospital. At the hospital she was found to have alcohol poisoning and wasn’t expected to live.

When Jill, Michelle’s mom, arrived at the hospital, Michelle was comatose and on a number of life support machines. A doctor told Jill that Michelle had an alcohol content of .5 in her system. “At .1 you’re drunk,” he said, “.4 is usually fatal.” He also said he did not think they could save her. He stated that even if she did survive, she would suffer brain damage because of being deprived of oxygen for so long. He also stated that damage to her lungs was irreparable.

In 1981, I had the opportunity to perform in Paris while I was visiting Freddy Koella and his drummer, Jean-Michael. Freddy is a virtuoso on the violin and guitar. He has worked with Bob Dylan, k.d. lang, Willy Deville, Francis Cabrel, and many others.

While I was with Freddy and Jean-Michael in France, I told them I was quitting my band (The Wommack Brothers Band) and was going into the healing practice of Christian Science. My twin brother, Kevin, and I started the band together and for ten years, we’d performed over two hundred shows a year, performing at times with Journey, Elvis Costello, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and others.

Freddy and Jean-Michael wondered why I would stop writing and performing. Music was everything. It was the best.

Apparently, betterment can take place because the language of music is a divine message. And, perhaps, the reason you and I love music so much is because we yearn to experience more and more of heaven. Each chord and chorus reveals that heaven is not that far away. …

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Note: This blog is a not a Houston Chronicle staff blog. The Houston Chronicle is not responsible for the content contained in this blog.

About Keith Wommack

I am a Christian Science practitioner and teacher, and the Christian Science Committee on Publication for Texas -- I've been described as a spiritual spur (since every horse needs a little nudge now and then).